Saturday, February 15, 2014

Supposedly "South East Tour" was originally released in 1971 under All American catalog number AA-5773-LPD. Not that we're experts or anything, but we've never seen an original copy of the album which probably makes Akarma's 1998 reissue your only real choice if you want to hear this set.

The title and packaging certainly give you the impression this is a live set, but that's not really the story here. Half of the ten tracks are pulled from Joseph's earlier band - A Giant Crab Comes Forth. (I'm too lazy to pull the LP, but I think the songs are all pulled the first Giant Crab LP). The other five selections are billed as previously unreleased efforts, but tracks such as "Keeping the Faith" and "How Many Times" don't sound like concert recordings to our ears. In terms of quality, the new stuff varies from ponderous boogie ("Satisfied Woman") to mildly entertaining ("Truthfulness"). To be honest, Giant Crab tracks such as the fuzz guitar propelled "Hotline Conversation" and the blue-eyed soul-ish "Save Me (Save Me)" provide the highlights.